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🍪 — 015. isa prefers cats over wolves.
THE FIRST THING Isa saw when she woke up was Red's eyes staring into her own. The girl blinked couple of times before rubbing her eyes. She was freezing, that she knew, but where she was, that she didn't know. She tried to remember what last happened, and. . .
"That fucker turned me to gold!"
"Yes, took you long enough to turn back," Leo said opposite of her, wrapped in blankest.
Isa just then noticed that she too was wrapped in a blanket. Slowly, the warmth was coming back to her and now she could feel her fingers again. She really needs to thank Hebe for this ability to heal faster ─ looks like it also meant hypothermia.
Next to her, a campfire blazed, turning the air sharp with smoke. Firelight flickered against rock walls. They were in a shallow cave, but it didn't offer much protection. Outside, the wind howled. Snow blew sideways. It might've been day or night. The storm made it too dark to tell. Isa saw Piper starting to move slightly; she was waking up.
"Oh, god." her teeth chattered as she spoke. "He turned me to gold!"
"You're okay now." Jason leaned over and tucked a warm blanket around her.
". . . Isa?. . . Leo?" Piper managed.
"Present and un-gold-ified I got the precious metal treatment too," Leo said. "But I came out of it faster. Dunno why. We had to dunk you and Isa in the river to get you faster. Tried to dry you off, but. . . it's really, really cold."
"You've got hypothermia, both of you." Jason said. "We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic ─ "
"Sports medicine." the coach said "Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it'll pass. You probably won't die. Probably."
"Thanks," Piper said weakly. "How did you beat Midas?"
Jason told them the story, putting most of it down to luck. The coach snorted. "Kid's being modest. You should've seen him. Hi-yah! Slice! Boom with the lightning!"
"Coach, you didn't even see it," Jason said. "You were outside eating the lawn."
But the satyr was just warming up. "Then I came in with my club, and we dominated that room. Afterward, I told him, 'Kid, I'm proud of you! If you could just work on your upper body strength ─ '"
